Unexpected Package
by CrimsonDayDream
Summary: With the murder of his parents, Sanji's entire life changes, forever haunted by the memories of that day. As years pass, he learns to cope with that ordeal, not allowing it to stop him from pursuing his dreams as he moves to the other side of town for the college of his dreams. However, his past is dangerous, violent, and sad, and it's about to rip his new life apart. Zosan
1. Chapter 1: Unexpected Knock

**Disclaimer: I don't own One Piece or any of the characters.**

**Warning: Rushness; Grammar; OOCness; Yaoi; Lemon; swearing; repetitiveness (I'm a repetitive person) and anything you notice that isn't on this list but is on this list.**

**Hello 25 followers, thank you so much for following this story. Also, Thank you to those 13 who favourited this story, if you did both by following and favouriting than I triple thank you. I assure you all, I am still alive and well and none of my stories have been forgotten, especially this one, however, I am changing it. It is still the same plot but I am writing it differently. The order of the chapters are changing and is being edited.**

Also, with the new revelation of Sanji's real last name in the Manga having been shown by Oda I am now using it. However, if you don't know it, go read it now, my gawd I can't believe you don't know it. If you don't want to read it, then either don't read or don't care and just read it. It's only a name.

**Chapter 1: Unexpected Knock**

* * *

In a certain room of the Grand Northern Blue Hotel, loud laughter and small giggles could be heard throughout the halls as a French family, whom were on holiday, were currently resided within.

The family were in the kitchen where delicious smells of food were being emitted from. The mother sat by the small kitchen table watching as her husband and son cooked together, a large smile on her face as she looked on at the familiar sight of the two. Her young son of ten years looked up to his father and he too wished to be just like him; a chef famous for his delectable cuisines.

The young boy was balanced on a chair, his father standing beside him, watching the younger blonde stir the sauce slowly but perfectly.  
"_Continuez_, Sanji" The father instructed, proud that his son was learning quickly with each passing day.  
"_Tu te débrouilles bien._" You're doing well.  
Sanji grinned widely at the praise he had received from his father. It wasn't often he received praise but when he did, it meant the entire world to him. His father tasted the sauce and smacked his lips together a couple of times before breaking out into a large grin. His grinned signified that the sauce was finished; he then took the sauce and poured it into the three dishes, completing the entree.

The father and son duo walked from the kitchen counter and to the table, carrying the starter and main meal to it. Sanji placed down his plate in a slow and gentle manner, his pinky hitting the table first to cushion the plate, just like how he had been taught him by his father and his instructors in fine dining.

"_Merveilleux!_ Sanji! Leo!" Marvellous. The mother cheered with joy to her son and husband.  
"_Sanji, votre sauce est le meilleur._" Your sauce is the best.  
"_Merci,_ Melody." Leo smiled to his wife as he thanked her.  
Sanji grinned for the hundredth time that evening, he felt like his dream to be a chef - just like his father - was certainly in reach. Especially with his parents at his side, helping him and supporting him. He dreamed of big dreams, he wanted to make others smile just like how his mother and father smile because of what he makes.

The family of three ate in comfortable silence until nothing was left on their plate, not even a drop of sauce. Once they had finished their dessert, Leo stacked the empty plates and carried them over to the sink for washing. Sanji, as always followed after his father expecting to help him wash and dry the dishes, however, his father ruffled his hair and instructed him to follow his mother so he could change into his pyjamas for their comfy movie night.

Showing slight disappointment, Sanji obeyed with no argument, following his mother into the bedroom and standing beside her as she picked out his pyjamas from his small suitcase. She took them out and handed them to Sanji before placing his small suitcase back in the closet and on the top shelf.  
As she placed away her son's belongings, Sanji happily dressed himself. Melody attempted to help him with his shirt, but Sanji pulled away, saying that he was far too old for her to dress him anymore, however she continued to counter his point with the fact he would forever be her baby.

Once he was dressed, Sanji folded up the clothes he had worn for the day speaking happily to his mother about his dream. He explained in great detail how he was going to open up a restaurant, calling it 'The All Blue'. He said it would be a family restaurant for the three of them to run together forever.

As they happily talked, a knock sounded in the hotel room silencing them all. From the kitchen, Leo was making his way to the door calling to his wife and son that he would answer it and see what they wanted. In the corner of his eye he could see his son peeking out between the gap of the bedroom door, it was evident that he was curious to whom was looked through the small peephole in the door, however he could only see just the top of the man's head. He opened the door and with one step, the man pushed forward, his full force against the father's chest. A loud thud sounded as the father was slammed against the wall.

Sanji rushed backwards and away from the door in fright bumping into his mother who lifted him up and rushed over to the closet. Shoving him inside, as she listened to the warning yells her husband was telling her. Without saying a word, Melody pressed her fingers to her lips in an attempt to tell Sanji to keep silent. She grabbed some clothes and threw them over the boy to make him look like he was a part of it. She smiled as bravely as she could but Sanji didn't miss the fear that was evident in her eyes.

He watched as she slowly closed the door, mouthing a few last words to him and with that, he was sealed within the closet. Melody moved her and her husbands suitcases so they stood in front of the closet door. Trying her hardest to make the closet seem like nothing was inside it.

Within the closet, Sanji tried to remain silent, to not move at all because he feared that he'd make too much noise, however he moved and now because of his movement; he was able to see through the small gaps of the closet door that the suitcase did not cover, however, the suitcase and the door somewhat obstructed his vision but he could still see enough of what was to come next.

Melody rushed over to the phone and attempted to phone down to the clerk desk, she fumbled with the paper and the numbers. She flinched as the bedroom door was forced open with a thundering slam. The man Sanji had seen shove his father against the wall, slowly walked into the bedroom where his mother now stood bravely, glaring at the intruder who was dragging her bloodied husband behind him like he was a rag doll. She dropped the phone, only the dead tone of the phone could be heard.

The man had to admire the woman's glare, but she couldn't hide the trembling of her body. He could practically smell the fear radiating from her pores. Without a second thought, he tossed the father to one side. He didn't move a step as he tilted his head to the side and gestured the mother towards him. The mother shook her head, not obeying to his wordless command, however this did her no good and had rather irked the man instead.

He wasn't a patient fellow and he never liked to repeat himself twice and so, if she didn't listen to him the first time when he asked nicely, then he'd just have to be rough. In a blink of an eye, the man was beside Melody, his arm already raised and connecting to her face in a heart beat. The force of the hit was so great that it had sent her flying and onto the bed, unconscious.

His eyes drifted up and down her body. The man couldn't wait. He looked back at the almost lifeless body he had tossed earlier. The eyes glaring at him.  
"_Enfoiré_" Motherfucker.

The intruder knew naught of the meaning of the foreign mans words, but he understood the rather hostile tone he had used to spit out said word. Well, it's not like he could fight back anymore, after all, he had shot him a few times with the silencer he was carrying. He smirked at the memory.

After shooting him in the knee caps, the man had began to crawl away, at least he attempted to. However this only gave the intruder a perfect shot that hit the other in the spine, fatally crippling him. He smirked, he might as well rid of his ability to speak too. He slowly walked to the defenceless man lifting him and dragging him a little away and into a larger area of the room where the man could lay flat.

The intruder climbed on top of Leo, pinning him down, his knees on either side of his chest. He held a gun to Leo's eye socket and smiled. He could feel the metal of the gun barrel press hard into his eye socket. It pushed his head against the cold hard floor, his chin held high. And then it was gone. Instead, he watched the swift descent of a hammer towards his face.

He closed his eyes. His jaw clamped shut. He felt a surge of strength rush through him and he began bucking and writhing for his life. He waited, his head rolling side to side, dizzy and sick. His breath exploded, saliva and blood spraying into the air and at the man who now held his life in his hands. The hitting stopped for a few seconds.

Nothing happened.

He wondered for a split second about his son.  
His son was safe, the man knew naught of the boy.  
As long as his son was safe, he couldn't careless what would happen to him.

The man shifted above the father, and angled his hammer to the mans upper body. The blows came over and over once more, splitting, breaking and cracking, splintering and shattering bones and flesh. He stored up every scream that wanted to rip up his throat.

Then it stopped.

Tears streamed down his face, sobs choked in his throat. His whole body trembled.  
He wanted to yell but only blood emitted from his mouth. He coughed and writhed violently but the energy was leaving his body fast.  
He closed his eyes, preparing for another onslaught of hits. He wanted to hear sirens, ones that were bringing police officers to his door.  
The blows started again, hard, fast and brutal. He looked into the eyes of his torturer, seeing the flicker of amusement in the mans eyes and now —from somewhere closed and locked inside him, unleashed only now — he raged.

Sanji had covered his mouth to stop any sounds from coming out, the tears streaming from his face as he watched his father slowly die in a painful and agonising way. He couldn't take his eyes off of the man who had repeatedly brought a hammer down upon his father until he died and had now turned to his mother.

Tears blurred his eyes and he blinked to let them move.  
He watched from between the gaps as the man climbed on top of his waking mother who screamed upon the sight of her lifeless husbands body. Her husbands murderer pushed her down on to the bed; one of his large hands gripped both of her tiny wrists whilst the other worked its way downwards, gliding along her body until it reached it's destination. His hand calmly fumbled at the woman's undergarments, ignoring whatever verbal protesting words she was saying.

It wasn't long before he had unzipped himself, immediately thrusting into the woman who contained the scream she held by biting her lip.  
The young boy had finally closed his eyes and ducked his head in-between his knees, his hands covering his ears, muffling the creaking of the bed. He fully understood what was happening to his mother as he had recently learnt this in school. His mother and father had even explained to him, they said it was something special, that only adults whom loved one another could do.

Yet, this man…Sanji didn't want to think about it. He didn't know how long it lasted but when his mothers torture finally ended, her life ended with it. That cruel man had strangled her in the process of violating her until the very last moments.

Sanji listened to the heavy footsteps of the large man walk around the room. He automatically shuffled as far back as he could into the closet. His heart beat increasing rapidly with each slow step…until it stopped, right outside of the closet. It almost felt like his heart would jump out of his body, or that it would burst from sheer fright.  
Silently, he begged that the man wouldn't open the closet and that he would leave.  
Eyes widened as his ears piqued to the sound of a hand touching the handle, creaking the closet door slightly. The boy felt his heart stop, this was the moment, the moment the killer would find him and he would torture him as well.  
The closet door opened slowly, and the boy screamed loudly, in hopes anyone near by would hear him and come to his rescue.

The men dressed in blue looked down at him in surprise. He stopped screaming and looked back at the two men, his eyes still wide. They weren't that demon, they were different. He tore his eyes away from them and looked at the horrid scene. He could hear and see the flashes of camera shutters. He could smell the stench of the blood and sweat.

The tears that had stopped flowing begun once more, slowly trickling down his cheeks from his clear blue eyes. From within the closet the scene looked different, almost as if it protected him from the horrors of it all, but now there were no doors to block the view. He saw it clearer, he saw the reality.

A coat fluttered within his view, blocking the horrid sight once more. It covered him completely, covering his head like a hood. Sanji turned away from the direction, coming face to face to a white haired man who held a cigar in his mouth. He pulled the boy forward and into a hug before lifting him slowly as he stood straight. He kept his large hand on the boys head, this was to assure himself that the boy couldn't lift it up and peak at the horrific scene he had already endured within that closet.

"Smoker Sir…" The two officers who found Sanji spoke.  
"You let him see the crime scene, you should have blocked his view as soon as you found him!" Smoker hissed, outraged that they hadn't acted quickly.  
"We're sorry Sir." The two officers didn't know what to say, they knew Smoker was right.  
Smoker sighed. "I'll come back as soon as I have him out of here." With that said, Smoker left the room, the sound of the shutters and flashing lights faded until it was quiet.

The tears had stopped and Sanji soon realised he had been taken all the way to the ground floor of the hotel. He was gently placed on a seat in the hotels restaurant. Smoker sat across from the boy, gazing back at what almost looked like a shell of a child.

He had heard from the hotel staff that the room was occupied by a French family of three. He thanked the heavens he had studied foreign languages for a moment like this - well not exactly like this, he never ever wanted to find a child at a murder scene.

"_Bonjour, Mon nom est Smoker et vous_?" Hello, My name is Smoker and you?  
Smoker was happy to see the boy react to him, looking up from the table and at him. He waited for the boy to speak but the younger child just stared blankly at him.

"Sanji Vinsmock..." The boy finally replied.

"_Quel âge avez-vous_, Sanji?" How old are you Sanji?

Sanji replied quickly this time. "_Je viens d'avoir dix ans_" I just turned 10 years old.

"So young" Smoker mumbled, frowning to himself. Sanji tilted his head slightly, he knew the older man spoke but he couldn't comprehend the words. At the moment, a young woman walked up to the two of them.  
"Yes Tashigi?" Smoker asked  
"Smoker Sir, I came from the scene to swap with you if you wanted to go back to it."  
He sighed. "It's fine, I'll go back later once I take him back to the station. We're conversing at the moment."

Tashigi nodded before looking at Sanji instead. She smiled gently at him.  
"_Bonjour_"  
"_Bonjour_" Sanji smiled sadly back at her. He shuffled over and tapped the seat beside him, gesturing to the older woman to sit next to her.  
Tashigi looked at Smoker who nodded, telling her to do it. The boy was interacting and speaking with them, it was a good thing.

Sanji gazed at Tashigi, she was as beautiful as his Mother, it made him think of his mother and whenever they sat next to each other they would hum.  
Sanji automatically began to hum gently, Tashigi recognised the tune and began to hum along with him, surprising the boy.

Before Smoker knew it, Sanji was smiling as he hummed along side Tashigi. They were both rocking side to side until the song ended.  
"_Merci_" Sanji spoke. He was thankful that the two officers with him had helped cheer him up, just a little. Enough to allow him an escape from the recent memory that continued to haunt him.

A waiter came over noticing that Smoker had waved him over.  
"Good evening, what would you like?" The waiter asked  
"Could we have a large chocolate sundae and two small ice-cream cones please?" Smoker asked the waiter.  
"Yes Sir" The man said to Tashigi before leaving.

This time, Tashigi took out her pen and notepad and began to draw a simple game on the paper. Sanji looked at the game, even he knew it. Tic Tac Toe.  
After a few games, Sanji was smiling a little less sadder. Having won every time made him happy. However he was beginning to suspect that Tashigi was losing to him on purpose to keep him happy.  
"Here you go" The waiter smiled at the three, placing the large chocolate sundae and handing the small ice-cream cone to Tashigi and Smoker.

Sanji looked shocked at the ice-cream that was pushed towards him. He turned his wide eyes to Tashigi and Smoker, looking between the two who simply nodded, telling him to dig in.  
He shakily grabbed the spoon, and began to eat the ice-cream and as he dug into his ice-cream, enjoying every bite of the sweet flavour. He couldn't help the tears that flowed down his face, he choked back his sobs as he ate the sweet dessert. The memories of the happiest days of his life with his parents played in his mind like a record and he knew that he could never see them again, that he could never taste his fathers delicious cooking.

That they would never see him grow up.  
That his dream was now shattered.

Sanji was half way through his sundae when he stopped eating. The tears still flowing. Tashigi grabbed a napkin and wiped his tears and his mouth before hugging him gently. She had whispered words of comfort to him, even if he didn't understand it, the tone was enough to sooth him.  
She held him until his body stopped shaking, until his breathing evened out telling her that he had fallen asleep.

Smoker looked at the sleeping boy in her arms.  
"You almost look like a Mother." Smoker smirked.  
Tashigi blushed. "It's a normal woman's instincts to cradle a crying child."  
Smoker chuckled. "Lets go back to the station." He suggested, standing up from his seat.  
She lifted up the boy and followed behind him.  
"What do we do?" Tashigi whispered to Smoker.  
"Contacting the French Government is first priority and having them contact any known relatives in France." Smoker looked down at her. "Can you do that for me as soon as we get back, Tashigi?"

She nodded firmly. "Yes sir!"

The rest of the drive back to the station was quiet. They left the car and entered the station to see a few people still at their desks. Nobody said a word, noting that the child they carried was asleep. However, they all couldn't help but think the three of them looked like a nice little family.

Tashigi gently placed the boy on the couch near Smokers desk. As soon as that was done, Tashigi bowed and immediately left to begin her task of informing the French government of the death of their citizens.  
Smoker sighed as he sat in his chair at his desk. He decided he would write the report later, once he got the photographs from the crime scene. He contemplated going back just to have a better look at it but first, he would wait for Tashigi to come back so someone would stay with Sanji.

"Sergeant Smoker!" Ah, there she was. Smoker turned in his seat to look at her.

"I reported the incident to the French authorities, they are currently unable to find records of other family members of relation. They ask us to contact them back if there's any contact numbers found with the family."

"I see." Smoker breathed deeply on his cigar, puffing the smoke out slowly.  
"Was there any contact details with the family?" Tashigi asked.  
"As far as I know, none have been found. If we can't find any, the French authorities will take Sanji anyway and, by my guess, they'll probably send him to an orphanage if family member's cannot be found."  
"I see…" Tashigi whispered sadly.  
"Tashigi, I'm going back to the hotel to look at the scene myself, stay with Sanji alright?"  
"Yes Sir!" She saluted him before watching as he left the building and headed towards the police car.

In his heart, Smoker silently vowed, that he would never rest until the murderer was found and locked away.  
Once the killer had been imprisoned, he would personally throw away the key.


	2. Chapter 2: Unexpected revelations

**Disclaimer: I don't own One Piece or any of the characters.**

**Warning: Rushness; Grammar; OOCness; Yaoi; Lemon; swearing; repetitiveness (I'm a repetitive person) and anything you notice that isn't on this list but is on this list.**

Sorry for the French, if it isn't correct, please let me know. I don't speak it at all, I studied it like five years ago, my friends studied it 5 years ago, we're all rusty. Like super rusty.

**Chapter 2: Unexpected revelations**

* * *

A rhythmic knocking sound resonated in the small and dark space occupied by a young child who sat in the corner away from what he knew were the doors. The knocking persisted and with each knock the boy's heart beat quickened. His eyes widened as the door began to slowly open itself, revealing a large demon that was now looming over him, a hammer in hand. It lifted the hammer high before swinging the weapon, descending down toward the petrified boy.

In a cold sweat, Sanji sat up suddenly, gasping for air. He snapped his head side to side, looking around the room for the demon, as if he were beside him. He slowly calmed down as he came to realise where he was. He shifted his eyes until they met Smokers who had been watching him the entire time.

Smoker shifted in his chair before proceeding to stand up and move towards the boy. He sat down beside him. "_Avez-vous eu un cauchemar?_" Did you have a nightmare? Smoker asked.  
"_Non_" No. Sanji answered, looking away from the officer. He didn't want to talk about his dream, the fear he felt, nor that demon.

Smoker had noticed the blatant lie but he decided not to question the boy about it. He had gathered that Sanji had dreamt about yesterday and it pained Smoker to know he'd have to get Sanji to speak into the tape about what he saw as soon as it was possible.  
"_Quelle heure est-il_?" What time is it? Sanji asked, breaking Smoker away from his thoughts.  
"_9 heures_" 9am.  
"Où est Tashigi?" Where is Tashigi?

Smoker smiled and answered the young boy's question; he explained to him that Tashigi went home to sleep and that she would be back later. Sanji had also questioned whether Smoker had slept or not but Smoker never answered it, he merely handed the boy a colouring book that Tashigi left on his desk for him, and stated that he would go get some breakfast for the two of them.

However, Sanji stayed in the office with other officers out side of the room whilst Smoker left to get some food for the two of them. The young boy he had sat on the floor with the book, pencils all around him as he coloured away at the images.  
He could hear the officers talking in the other room, holding and shuffling through paper. He didn't understand them but he gathered they were just doing their jobs.  
It wasn't long before the older man came back with a bag and some drinks in hand. He quietly walked up to Sanji and crouched down beside him, looking at what the boy was concentrating on.  
Sanji had noticed him come up and had stopped colouring; he turned and looked at him.  
"_Eh bien fait Sanji, il semble vraiment bon._" Well done Sanji, it looks really good.

Sanji stared at him for a moment before breaking out into a huge grin. He grabbed what Smoker was handing to him and dug into the warm breakfast that consisted of pancakes and so, whilst the younger of the two ate happily, Smoker travelled over to his desk and sat in his chair, slowly unwrapping his bagel as he flipped open the folder he had created in the early hours of the morning.

A knock sounded on his office door. He noted Sanji flinch in the corner of his eye, he continued to watch the blood drain from the young boys face as the door slowly opened. He could hear the gulp the young boy took before he relaxed upon seeing another man in the same uniform as Smoker.

"Smoker sir, we've just received a copy of the autopsy report here for the bodies found last night"  
"Ah, thank you." Smoker stood from his desk as the other man walked to him and handed the folder to him. They both bowed to one another before the younger officer left, closing the door behind him.  
Smoker took his time opening the folder, reading through the details, with each line, his own face paled, similarly to how Sanji's had paled moments ago. He couldn't believe what he was reading, and he couldn't imagine what kind of scene that these details say occurred and yet - he glanced at Sanji - that boy had witnessed it all.

The mutilation of his father. The rape of his mother.

He witnessed something so horrifying that Smoker couldn't believe that that boy was dealing with it all. He continued to smile, he continued to be well-mannered, calm and brave. As if he had been told to always be like that and that no matter what, give off an air of prestigiousness.

Smoker combined the images of the scene with the details he had received, trying to piece together the scenario, he also took in mind the reaction Sanji had to the knocking of the door. He was no phycologist, but he understood that his reaction was a connection to how the killer had entered their home, setting off the beginning of that horrific night.

It was during lunch that Smoker ask Sanji if he would speak on tape about what he had witnessed, however, if Sanji didn't want to that would be fine, he wasn't going to force the boy into anything he didn't want to do. However, Sanji didn't hesitate to agree to the tape, he said that if the tape would help capture the demon, he'd do it.

Smoker noted how well Sanji hid his nervousness as they went into the small private room where a camera was set up along with an investigator and a translator seated at a small table, talking to one another. Sanji walked over to the two women and greeted them before sitting beside the translator, who began to explain to Sanji what the process was going to be and that the investigator was going to ask him a few questions however, he had a choice to answer the questions and if he wanted to stop, they would stop.

Sanji understood and looked at the camera, ready to begin…

'_Sanji, was it just you and your parents staying in your hotel room?"  
'Yes. We were having dinner, I helped make it with my Father as Mother watched. When we finished dinner, Mother and I went to the bedroom so we could change into our pyjamas whilst Father stayed in the kitchen to clean.'  
'What happened then Sanji?'  
'I heard someone knocking on the door, they knocked three times. I was curious, so I peeked through the gap of the door and saw father answering it…and…and…'  
'It's okay Sanji, take your time'  
'…Father was pushed back by a large man.'_

'Could you describe him for me?'  
"He was large and big. He had black hair that was shaped like a bowl. He was holding a gun in his hand with a tube thing on it. Mother had grabbed me and placed me within the closet but then that demon came into the room. He hit my mother and then proceeded to beat my father to death with a hammer."  
"What happened to your mother?"  
"When she woke, he…he did things. He…mother was…She was screaming as he…Only adults who love each other should do it, but he did that with mother! And then he strangled her!'

Smoker paused the tape. Freezing it at the sight of Sanji crying, his small face twisted in rage and sadness as he broke down. That was the first for Smoker to see the young boy lose his composure completely, breaking down as if he had been placed back in that closet. He came out of the small room, tape in hand and looked at Sanji who ran up to Tashigi along with the translator. He knew that behind that exterior, was a traumatised child.

The day passed with Tashigi looking after Sanji and Smoker doing his work. He had spoken to the police artist to sketch an image from the description Sanji had provided. He had also spoken to the investigating and forensic team, asking if they had found any fingerprints or DNA so they could find their culprit. Sadly they hadn't found anything, not even on the mother.  
Smoker sighed and then instructed them to search through bins, the killer must have made a mistake and they just needed to find it.  
He had also contacted his higher ups to see to the situation Sanji was currently in at the moment, his top priority, other than trying to catch the killer, was to make sure Sanji was going somewhere safe.

Upon hearing the higher-ups thoughts and decisions, he thought it best to tell Tashigi and Sanji. He slowly walked up to the happy duo.  
"Ah, good evening Sir!" Tashigi greeted Smoker.  
"Afternoon. I contacted our higher ups and they think it'll be better if we contact someone from the French embassy to come and deal with him" Smoker muttered to Tashigi.  
"Deal with him?"  
Smoker sighed. "They'll either find any relatives that can look after him, or he'll go to an orphanage."  
Tashigi frowned. "Are you going to tell him?"  
"Of course"

"Non, je ne veux pas y aller" No, I do not want to go. Sanji pleaded.  
Smoker had explained to him that he would be taken by the French embassy and that they would try their best to contact any family members Sanji could possibly have. Now, Sanji knew he had other family members but the problem was, he didn't know their names nor their numbers or addresses, in fact, he had never actually met them. So that meant the possibility of him being at an orphanage was high.

No matter what Sanji said, nor how long he protested for, Smoker wouldn't budge and eventually the young blonde gave up. He dejectedly walked back to Smokers office and continued with the colouring book. Tashigi attempted to go comfort the boy, but Smoker stopped her, telling her that he needed time.

Smoker and Tashigi had continued with their paper work, whilst they waited for a person from the French embassy to Travel to them. They had let Sanji be on his own for a while to think things over and calm down, occasionally Sanji would get up from his book and leave for a moment and then come back in silence, sometimes with a drink, and continue his previous actions.

So, Smoker never found it suspicious when Sanji left the room once again and happened to take a lot longer to come back. It was 15 minutes later that Smoker was now highly suspicions. He immediately stood up from his desk and walked to the drinks area before proceeding to the lavatories. He opened each cubicle to find every single one of them empty.

It was in this moment, Smoker began to panic. He rushed out of the lavatories and looked around the offices, staring at all his co-workers. He walked past them all, glancing side to side. Not a sight of blonde hair anywhere.  
"Smoker Sir?"  
"Tashigi, have you seen Sanji?"  
"No Sir, what's happened?"  
Smoker immediately ran out of the building and looked to the ends of the streets both ways. There was no way he'd be able to find him now, the boy was long gone.  
The office was dead quiet when Smoker re-entered. They obediently listened to the dark tone in his voice as he explained to them all that Sanji had gone, and that he wanted everyone to drop what they were doing, and to search for the foreign child immediately. He wanted them all to bring him back safely by any means.

Sanji had planned it, he had planned his escape carefully and Smoker, nor anyone else had suspected it. He had inspected the office layout, he had wondered around and slowly mapped it all in his head. He made sure to leave the office occasionally for drinks, snacks and toilet breaks before going back to make his leave later less suspicious. However, the moment the time came, he carefully walked out of the building before making a quick haste to put a distance between him and the building.

Sanji had ran as fast as his feet could take him. He had ducked down alleyways, not stopping until he felt like he was far enough away from them. However, as he came to a stop, his mind caught up to him. He had escaped them, but what was he going to do now?  
Why had he even escaped in the first place?

Ah, that's why. He didn't want to be taken away, even if it meant he would go back to his home country, there was nothing there waiting for him. His parent's were dead. His relatives, well he didn't even know. In his mind, he knew he'd be sent to an orphanage, and then to a foster family and he'd slowly forget about his real parents. He didn't want any of that.

It was at that moment, realisation hit him.

He was alone.

Tashigi and Smoker had been a distraction but now he had gotten away from them, reality was here and he was alone. Well and truly alone.

The memories of those happier times came to him, the memories he'd one day forget, the memories he could never experience again and then those dark horrid memories in the hotel, the ones he could never ever forget, they all flooded his mind.  
He missed his Mother and Father. He wanted his father to cook his delicious food, he wanted to help him and hear those rare praises. He wanted his Mother to hug him and sing to him. He wanted her to baby him again, dress him up.

He wanted it all back, to rewind time back to that night. To stop his father from opening that door.  
If that door had never opened, if that man had never knocked, they would have all been happily watching a movie. He'd finally be seeing the surprise his father and mother had spoken about when they were on the plane.  
And he, he would be holding their hands right now, walking down the street.

Sanji clenched his hands. His cold empty hands.

The tears fell from his eyes. He wanted to hear their voices one last time, to say his name. But no, the last thing he had to hear of them, was their screams and their cries.

"Aah!" Sanji cried aloud, the tears spilling out. He tried so hard, to stifle the tears since that night. He had kept the screams of fear and anger all to himself and now, he no longer could hold it in.  
"Uwah! Ah ha ahhh!" The tears blurred his vision, and he closed his eyes. His mouth wide open as he screamed.

He hated the world so much now. It was unfair and cruel.

Sanji couldn't understand the murmurs of people around him, but he knew all their eyes were on him and he didn't like it. Not one bit. So it wasn't long before he took off, running down the road once more, not caring that the tears blurred his vision. He didn't know where he was going, or what he was going to do, but he couldn't care anymore. He just wanted to get away from everything, and everyone.

It was to his surprise when he was suddenly pulled backwards and lifted just in time as a truck drove past him, brushing against the tips of his hair. His eyes widened in realisation, he hadn't noticed that he had been inches away from his demise. Moments away from running into a busy road. Sanji looked up at his saviour; he was a blond man with a moustache tied by blue ribbons on the ends.

The man was breathing heavily as he looked down at the surprised boy, seeing the tears flowing down his cheeks. He had noticed the young boy when he ran past him, and he couldn't help but notice how distraught he was, however he wasn't one to let a young child his age be alone, crying late at this night and so, he ran after the child which had turned out to be a good thing for he had just saved the boy.

He couldn't help but sigh in relief.

"_Merci…_" Sanji muttered, wiping his tear stained cheeks.

The elder man's eyes widened in surprise before relaxing, it was a language he was all to familiar with.  
"_Mon nom est Zeff, où sont tes parents_?" My name is Zeff, where are your parents?  
"_Je ne veux pas revenir en arrière…_" I don't want to go back…

Zeff looked into the boy's pleading eyes and sighed once more. In his mind, he was beginning to put together possibilities about why the boy was crying and why he didn't want to go back. Perhaps the boy had moved away from France, and he hadn't settled in well, he was struggling to make friends and converse and thus has ran away from home, trying to escape reality that is being in a new country.

"_Allons y_" Let's go. Zeff mumbled, smiling sadly as dragged the protesting boy with him. Sanji had given up, eventually just walking beside Zeff until they stopped where he couldn't help but stare in wonder at the unique building of a fish.

"_Ceci, est la Baratie. Mon restaurant._" This, is the Baratie. My restaurant. Zeff said proudly, turning to smile down at the boy.

Zeff began to explain to the boy that he was from France as well, and that he was expanding his business. He told him that he was meant to meet with a fellow chef from France that he had asked to run his new restaurant for him, however, he hadn't shown up nor had he contacted Zeff. Their conversation had continued into the restaurant and into the kitchen where Zeff had began to make them some food. Of course, Sanji's eyes had lit up, not because of food, but because of the idea of cooking. The kitchen as well had brought even more life into the boy.

"Tu as du talent…" You have talent. Zeff said in surprise, watching as the boy slowly cut up the vegetables Zeff had asked him to. "_Avez-vous un rêve?_" Do you have a dream?  
"_Je veux être un chef aussi?"_ I want to be a chef as well. Sanji answered, never taking his eyes off of his knife.  
Zeff was glad that Sanji had said that, such talent shouldn't go to waste. In all honestly, Zeff would like to take this boy in and train him, however it seemed someone, possibly close to the kid was already teaching him the basics of cooking.  
"_Mon père était un chef trop_." My father was a chef too.  
Ah, there it was.  
"_Quel est son prénom_?" What's his name? Zeff asked, there was a possibility he knew the boy's father or had at least heard of him. Perhaps the two of them had crossed paths once or twice.  
"Leo Vinsmock."

The smile vanished from Zeff's face, he paused before asking his next question.  
"_Où est ton père ?_" Where is your father?  
He had expected an answer like 'At the hotel, waiting for me' or 'He's probably out looking for me' and if that was so, then Zeff could easily contact him, after all, Leo Vinsmock was who he was meant to meet today, and now, Zeff was thinking that he knew the reason why the man hadn't turned up and he was forgiving of the fact now he knew his child had vanished.

However, what came next was something that never crossed his mind, and made everything that much more different.  
"_Il ... il est mort_" He…he died.

Sanji explained to Zeff what had happened to him, and where he had been and why he didn't want to go back at all. He even begged the older blonde not to take him back. Zeff hadn't said a word through out Sanji's explaining and pleading, he was shocked. Too shocked, however, he felt like he should tell Sanji.

He told the young boy that he knew his father. He wasn't lying, he was generally telling the truth. Zeff and Leo had been acquaintances, having worked together when they were apprentices. Zeff had kept his contact details and had recently contacted the other for a proposition of managing his new restaurant. Of course, Leo had been happy to do it, he had even stated that his son had spoken about having a dream of owning a restaurant with them and that it was actually going to happen, and that he'd surprise his son.

Zeff had then taken Sanji through another door and upstairs to the apartment above the restaurant, he opened the door and let the young child in. Sanji's eyes widened to see the place filled with boxes, but that wasn't what surprised him. What surprised him, had been the neatly laid out uniform. It was for him.

That had been the big surprise.


	3. Chapter 3: Unexpected Surprise

**Disclaimer: I don't own One Piece or any of the characters.**

**Warning: Rushness; Grammar; OOCness; Yaoi; Lemon; swearing; repetitiveness (I'm a repetitive person) and anything you notice that isn't on this list but is on this list.**

Reply to reviews:

**Lilcutieprincess - Thank you for the review! I'll try my best with the updates!  
****Michikuni Mayu - I do remember! Thank you for staying with me and this story and thank you for your help once more. I will certainly fix my mistakes as soon as I can. **

**Chapter 3 - Unexpected surprise**

* * *

With the final goodbye for the evening the Baratie closed their doors, allowing the chefs and waiters of the respected workplace to sigh in relief and stretch their limbs.  
It wasn't often that they would close the restaurant early, but this rarity was happily accepted by them all, however, it was only a one time early closure and the reason was due to an important meeting concerning the foundation of the restaurant that the owner, Zeff, had to attend.

Zeff watched his workers cheer over the fact that the restaurant was closed until they all began to go quiet. He looked them all in the eye and nodded, silently giving them a message before looking down at the smallest of them all. The little apprentice and adopted son; Sanji.  
He handed Sanji a small key. "I'll be home later, will you be fine alone?" He said to the boy who took the key and nodded.

Once Sanji had the key safe in his pocket, Zeff bid them all goodbye and made his way out of the restaurant, leaving the rest to slowly make their way to their respected rooms. Their rooms were the sleeping quarters for the employees of the restaurant that had been built a few years back, courtesy of Zeff, as many of them could not afford a place of their own and so they could reside happily here, as long as they worked of course.

Sanji silently watched them all leave, disappointment evident on his face as he finally realised that perhaps the words he waited for from everyone was never going to come. He had thought at first, perhaps they were all playing with him, teasing him but now it certainly seemed as if they all had forgotten. He shook his head slowly, trying to rid of the negative thoughts that were creeping into his mind before sighing, honestly, it didn't matter and instead of sulking he had better things to do such as practicing his skills in the kitchen, after all, if he wanted his dream to become true he needed to work hard and today shouldn't be different at all.

For a good few hours, only the sound of a knife connecting to a chopping board could be heard. However, that was until the lights within the Baratie kitchen suddenly switched off, leaving Sanji in darkness and surprise. His curly eyebrow twitched in annoyance at the current predicament he now found himself in. He had been practicing his knife technique prior to the lights switching off, however he couldn't continue when he couldn't see, which irked him even more as he had almost gotten the technique down.

An aspirated sigh escaped his lips as he gently placed down the knife in his hand, and turned to look around the kitchen, unable to see properly due to the lack of light. Sanji was only able to see an outline of a few things but even then, that wasn't enough to help guide him out of the kitchen. Cursing under his breath, Sanji grabbed the kitchen sides and began to slowly make his way using it as a guide.

He slowly moved himself along, however his ears piqued to the quiet sound of shuffling that he knew wasn't him. He froze and stilled his breath, his eyes looking left and right and although he couldn't see, the sound was loud to him and only him. It wasn't long until he realised the sound was coming in every direction…there was someone, no…there were people in the room with him, and they were surrounding him.

Sanji's heart began to race rapidly as the darkness began to suffocate him. He could hear the beating of his heart, as loud as the footsteps that drew nearer and nearer with each unbearable second. He closed his eyes and breathed deeply, trying to keep himself calm as he reminded himself of his training, he could defeat who ever it was and make a dash for it. It wasn't like he was entirely alone, he just had to make it to the employees quarters and bang on all their doors for help.

The lights flickered back on suddenly, followed by the loud explosion of poppers spreading confetti into the air.  
"Surprise!" Came a chorus of voice's along with cheering that all quickly died down as they stood in surprise upon realisation of what had just happened. Sanji had aimed a kick at Zeff who had easily blocked the assault just as the lights had all been switched on.

Sanji had been equally surprised as everyone else. However, his surprise quickly turned into anger upon realisation on what was going on.  
"Are you trying to scare me, you shitty geezer?!" He yelled, swiftly landing from his attack and glaring at the older blonde.  
"Are you trying to kill me stupid eggplant!?" Zeff yelled back, his own foot settling back to the floor. The two continued to glare at one another, neither side wanting to back down, but despite Sanji's equal stubbornness, he was the first to break eye contact.  
The youngest blonde scoffed after turning away, muttering that there was no way his kick could kill Zeff.

The older man chuckled and smiled gently at the pouting boy, he reached out a hand and ruffled Sanji's hair, chuckling even louder as the child pulled away and tried to sort out his hair complaining that it was all messed up now.  
"Happy 13th Birthday, Eggplant." Zeff said in between his laughter.  
"Happy birthday!" Everyone else shouted from around him, breaking into smiles and laughter.

For a moment, Sanji stood in surprise. He had truly thought they all had forgotten about it, he broke out into a grin before being suddenly lifted high into the air.  
"Patty! Carne!" Sanji shouted in surprise. "Put me down!" He laughed happily, however, he silently hoped that they wouldn't listen to him.  
"No way birthday boy! Let's go and get this party started!" Patty and Carne declared, carrying him away from the kitchen and into the main restaurant where they had been decorating quietly for the past few hours as to not make the child suspect anything.

The smile stayed on Zeff's face as everyone followed the three into the main area, leaving him behind in the kitchen, however, as the door slowly closed behind them the smile faded on his face.  
Zeff hadn't ignored the sweat nor the pale face that Sanji had. Throwing a surprise party for the first time had still been too soon for him, perhaps there would never be a time where it would not be too soon. It always will be too soon, after all Sanji's life had been drastically changed before his very eyes, and although it had been three years ago it would be a moment that will forever haunt him. It was traumatic for him and despite the fact Sanji coped well with smiles and laughter, Zeff knew that it truly was a facade.

Zeff was brought out of his thoughts when the kitchen door slammed opened as Sanji ran back into the kitchen, a party hat on his head and a goofy smile on his face.  
"Shitty geezer, come watch me open the presents!" Sanji said, grabbing at Zeff's clothes and tugging it. Zeff allowed himself to be pulled by the boy and into the next room with everyone else. Sanji let go of Zeff and ran back over to the presents, ripping them open one by one.

One in particular had caught his attention massively. Sanji stared into the box, not moving. Everyone knew what it was but they waited quietly, watching as Sanji slowly lifted some clothing out of the box.  
"A junior high uniform?" Sanji whispered in shock, eyeing it up. He recognised this uniform and that  
emblem.  
"This is one of the prestigious schools…!" Sanji shouted in surprise, looking right at Zeff as if he was insane. Everyone knew what kind of school this was, it was a rich escalator school, trying to get in was completely difficult.

Zeff raised an eyebrow, it mattered not to him whether it was a "prestigious school" or not, as long as it was good academically for Sanji that was all that mattered. The main reason he had enrolled Sanji into a junior high school was so he could finally live a more normal life, let him make and have friends. For him to be happy, that's all he wanted for Sanji, and it was what he deserved.

However, he wasn't going to force Sanji, if he didn't want to attend he would pull out for him.  
"Did you want to attend Sicario academy?" Zeff asked.  
"Of course I want to attend!" Sanji jumped in joy, placing the uniform down and running to Zeff hugging him. He honestly couldn't contain the appreciation he had towards Zeff.  
"Thank you! Thank you old geezer!" Sanji thanked over and over, happy tears in the corner of his eyes.

The party continued until it began to get late and one by one, everyone started to leave for their room, this time for real. Sanji smiled happily at them all, bidding them a thank you and a goodnight.  
He chuckled at the few drunken slurs he received back before following Zeff to their apartment above the restaurant. They entered the apartment, placing their shoes to one side.

"Alright, head to bed now Eggplant, it's been a long day." Zeff instructed, locking the door behind him. Sanji nodded, quickly running off towards his room however he stopped and turned back to look at Zeff. "Night geezer and…"  
Zeff waited for him to continue.  
"…thank you"  
Zeff couldn't help but smile, "Good night eggplant"

Sanji closed his bedroom door, the smile still on his face from all the good memories of the day. He headed straight for the bathroom and brushed his teeth before quickly changing into his pyjamas, however instead of jumping into his bed, Sanji walked over to his desk and sat down.

He pulled over a little brown leather bound book, and opened it. He had been given the book by his therapist who had told him he could still connect to his parents even if they were no longer with him. Sanji had been wary about writing in it for a while, he didn't want it to be read but the therapist told him that no one would read it, that it was for him and only him. And so, Sanji with those words as comfort began to use it and he had to admit, it helped. A lot.

He sometimes wondered about sharing it with Zeff, he wanted to, honestly he did after all, he trusted Zeff but, at the same time, if Zeff saw some of these pages he may worry. There were days with dark passages and he didn't want Zeff to worry.

He slid a photo of his parents out of the book, and gently gazed at it as he slowly began to write, the pen scratching the paper as the ink glided along with each letter he wrote.

_"Dear Mother and Father,_

_It seems I'm still afraid of the lights switching off, I really thought I was okay, I even told Zeff I was months ago…but after this evening, when the kitchen lights switched off suddenly…it had me petrified. I couldn't help but think that it was him…that he'd finally come for me._

_The training from Zeff helped a little though, I thought for a moment that maybe I could protect myself but I felt so much doubt about it that I was so relieved to find out it was just everyone. The thoughts faded away fast though, and instead it was replaced by fun because they had all thrown me a surprise party!_

_They must have worked hard to plan it, they even had me thinking that they had forgotten that it was even my birthday. I bet it was Zeff's idea to do so, and I bet it was Patty and Carne's idea to switch off the lights in the kitchen to surprise me. It worked considering it did scare me but wait, it didn't stop there, Zeff gave me the biggest surprise of them all, he's enrolled me into Sicario Academy!_

_I honestly can't wait to attend. I'll make you both and Zeff proud of me._

_Love and miss you forever, Sanji"_

He placed down his pen before fumbling into his pocket for a polaroid photo that was taken of himself and everyone, which he then placed into the book with his newly written entry. He glanced at the photo of them once more before sliding it back into his book and closing it.

He enjoyed these small letters to his parents, it comforted him in a strange way like he was still able to connect to them despite not being with him. Sanji walked over to his bed and switched on the lamp before switching off the main light.

It truly had been a while since he had to use this lamp, but he knew that tonight he needed it.


End file.
